Abstract:In the mid-19th century, photographers used mirrors to document different views of a patient in the same image. The first clinical photographs were taken by portrait photographers. As conventions for clinical photography were not yet established, early clinical photographs resemble contemporary portraits. The use of mirrors in clinical photography probably originated from the portrait studios, as several renowned photographers employed mirrors in their studio portraits. Clinical photographs taken for the US Army Medical Museum between 1862 and 1882 show different ways of employing this mirror technique.

In the documentary she will delve into anatomical specimen collections, so important to the development of modern surgery, in an effort to find out who all these specimens came from. Who were these people?

If you, like me, love medical history, head over to the Indiegogo campaign pages and donate! There are lots of goodies waiting for you depending on the amount you choose to donate, and if you donate before March 9th you’ll even enter a draw.

Letters of Note has published a remarkable letter from Hawaiian missionary Lucy Goodale Thurston to her daughter, describing Mrs. Thurston’s mastectomy in 1855. The operation was done without any form of anesthesia. The doctors had advised her to not use chloroform “because of my having had the paralysis” (probably polio).

Dr. Ford looked me full in the face, and with great firmness asked: “Have you made up your mind to have it cut out?” “Yes, sir.” “Are you ready now?” “Yes, sir; but let me know when you begin, that I may be able to bear it. Have you your knife in that hand now?” He opened his hand that I might see it, saying, “I am going to begin now.”

We went camping in Finland this summer and spent one day in the city of Turku. In the city museum part of Turku Castle I found this wooden figurine, depicting a victim of the Black Death.

By the time we reached this part of the castle however, my kids (3 and 6 years old) were so fed up (I can’t blame them) I didn’t have time to write down any details about the statuette. If someone reading this have, please write a comment.

The Wellcome Collection in London is hosting an exhibition of 19th-century anatomical wax models, entitled “Exquisite Bodies” from July 30th to October 18th (photo credit). In Victorian Britain, the demand for cadavers for dissection was very high, but the supply was low. One solution was to make anatomical wax models to teach anatomy. A lot of these models also found their way into museums, teaching the public about reproduction and contagious diseases.

There’s a lot to explore on the exhibition’s website: image galleries with some of the most prominent items, an interactive anatomical Venus and videos on these Victorian wax wenches.